Phillis Wheatly, a black female child brought from the interior of Africa, and sold as a slave in Boston, New England, afterward gained great celebrity by her poetical writings, which, considering the period in which she lived, and the limited advantages of her own education, are certainly very remarkable. This intelligent woman could remember very little about the customs of her native land, excepting that her mother always poured out water before the rising sun. Hornemann says it was the custom in Bornou annually to throw a richly decorated maiden into the Niger, according to the ancient custom in Egypt. The Africans, like all uneducated people, are extremely superstitious. They never go to battle, or commence a journey, without being loaded with certain protecting charms, of which the most valuable are written sentences sewed up in little bags. The _marabouts_ or priests sell an immense number of verses from the Koran, for this purpose. When major Denham was in Houssa, the women, having seen him write, came to him in crowds to obtain amulets to restore their beauty, preserve the affections of their lovers, and sometimes to destroy a rival. When the Portuguese first attempted to establish their empire in Congo, they found women of rank, who went about with dishevelled hair, beating drums, and pretending to perform magical cures; and the women of Loggum, who are said to be very intelligent, are still quite celebrated for their skill in witchcraft. The Africans are generally prejudiced against undertaking any thing on Friday; if they are pursuing a journey, they will halt under a tree and wait till that day is over. There are likewise certain animals and objects, which if met unexpectedly are considered bad omens. An annual festival, called the _tampcara_, is distinguished by a strange superstitious custom. At this period a personage appears on the banks of the Gambia, to whom they give the name of Tampcara. The natives believe him to be a demon, and bestow without resistance whatever he pleases to demand. He appears only in the night, but his door is at all hours open to the women. Husbands dare not betray the slightest symptoms of jealousy, for fear of incurring the awful displeasure of Tampcara.